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EXCLUSIVE: Listen to Title Song From New Rags Cast Recording

The musical features a score by Charles Strouse and Stephen Schwartz.

San Attwater and Carolyn Maitland in Rags.
Sam Attwater and Carolyn Maitland in Rags.
(© Pamela Raith)

Ghostlight Records will release the original London cast album of Charles Strouse, Stephen Schwartz, Joseph Stein, and David Thompson's musical Rags digitally and on streaming platforms on Friday, May 15. Listen to the title song exclusively below:

The new album, based on the London production that ran in 2019, is the first recording of the revised version of the show, which features a book by Thompson (based on Stein's original) and score by Strouse (music) and Schwartz (lyrics). It had its UK premiere in February 2019 at the Hope Mill Theatre and transferred to the Park Theatre in London.

Rags follows a group of Jewish immigrants as they arrive to start a new life in America. Fresh from Ellis Island, a young mother and her son search for a new life and a sense of home as the 20th century beckons. The streets of Manhattan's Lower East Side may not be paved with gold, but they echo with the music of opportunity, optimism, and hope.

Featured on the album are Carolyn Maitland as Rebecca, Dave Willetts as Avram and Sam Attwater as Bronfman, with Debbie Chazen as Anna, Alex Gibson-Giorgio as Sal, Rachel Izen as Rachel, Samuel Jones and Jude Muir as David, Martha Kirby as Bella, Oisin Nolan-Power as Ben, and Jeremy Rose as Jack. Completing the cast are Arthur Boan, Angela Caesar, Adam Crossley, Drew Dillon, Matthew Gent, and Natasha Karp.

The production was directed by Bronagh Lagan, with choreography by Philip Michael Thomas, orchestrations by Nick Barstow, set and costume design by Gregor Donnelly, lighting design by Derek Anderson, sound design by James Nicholson, casting by Jane Deitch, and children's casting by Keston and Keston.